Between 705 & 1200 SQ/FT The Vintage Garage - Bucharest, Romania.

[Bogdan M.]

That's the tool I was thinking about. Here they are called grass trimmers.
Your lawn is gorgeous!

It's nice to be able to use a 70 year old tool, getting the job done and doing exercise at the same time.

The owner has a dog that stays in the yard at night. I hope I will not have problems with the grass.

I have two dogs, but I keep them at home.

 

[sawduststeve]

Grass trimmer? weed eater?
They're known as strimmers here.
A cyclinder mower gives a far superior cut than a rotary mower and like Drives said a push along is good exercise.

Steve.

 

[drivesitfar]

Bog: do a little GOOGLE research cause i think it might be a simple fix to keep grass growing where a dog has peed. with pets especially dogs it's a challenge to have a nice lawn. we haven't had a dog since 2008, but we get our daughter's dog about 3 or 4 months a year and he's not allowed on the front lawn, but I can't just let him out the front door to go to his spots out on the gravel to do his business.

I'll try to do some Googling too and maybe we can figure out what the solution is so we both can keep our dogs. also training them to go in a certain spot can help if you have the time.

cheers

PS i just had to repair some CRITTER DAMAGE where some CRITTER totally dug up our front yard in one 10x20 foot area between midnight and 4am a few nights last fall. have no idea what did it and thinking mole, raccoons, coyotes, or even crows, but it was an amazing display of strength cause it took me two days to pick this heavy rooted sod out around the area the CRITTER DESTROYED.

now i'm about ready to put a little more top soil down and buy and install new sod and my cat is using as her litter box the last two days.

take care

EDIT: quick Google got me this link: http://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Pet-Urine-from-Damaging-Lawn

 

[drivesitfar]

Bog: i'll delete my posts about all this grass stuff if you want me to, but thought you might need a little help.

dogs can be taught to go in a certain area, but there is a lot of training involved.

good luck and just trying to help it keep looking like a resort like it did when you first posted pictures.

cheers

 

[Bogdan M.]

I will do some research about that.

That's a lot of damage. Sorry about that! Do you have coyotes in your area?
You are installing the sod yourself?

No need for any deleting. Feel free to post, any advice / info is much appreciated!

Keeping it like that will surely be a lot of work. But I don't mind that because it looks a lot better and it makes me feel better.

 

[drivesitfar]

BOG: we live about 15 minutes south of downtown SEATTLE so we are pretty much in the city still that just is called a different name. i bought a house next to a 700 acre park 30 years ago (my own personal MONEY PIT) cause it also has a sound view. we can walk two blocks to several restaurants and gas stations just to give you an idea of our location.

that said i've had Coyotes in our front yard, lots of raccoons, possums, rats, mice, ferrets, rabbits, dogs, cats and birds from Eagles & Herons to flying rats we call CROWS. we also have hummingbirds which are my personal favorites cause they'll fly right next to you sometimes when i'm standing on my sidewalk or weeding the flower beds and feed off a flower almost as though they are just saying hello.

the hummingbirds like this flowering bush (dafniadora) that smells heavenly when it's in bloom and i can almost touch them when i'm working in front of my garage if i pulled out a bench to work there. i think the reason i had that picture is because there was a hummingbird feeding at the time and i think i see him down on a lower level near the sidewalk. posted a picture we picked up when on vacation that is hanging inside our house now of a hummingbird.

this beach is about a mile from my house and we certainly don't make enough time to go walk there, but maybe that will change now that the last of our 5 kids is moving out next month.

sounds like you like dogs. any other flying critters or visitors come around to check you out?

 

[Bogdan M.]

Very cool place!
It's very unusual to be close to a big city, but also being able to enjoy nature and the beach.
The garage is in the center of Bucharest, so there's no wildlife.
Just pigeons, crows, sparrows.

I like animals and I love dogs. I have an Amstaff and a Shih Tzu.
The Amstaff is a female and is very loving and gentle. The Shih Tzu has a bad temper like most small dogs. ))

 

[drivesitfar]

BOG: our WILDLIFE as you call it is more like people's pets getting loose and running around and maybe becoming wild, but i hear you.

speaking of pets we need pictures of yours and here's my KILLER CAT we rescued from a shelter almost 2 years ago. we named her CLEOpatra cause she's the queen we serve. she's almost 6 and i still can't PLAY with here without welding clothes and gloves on cause she has VERY SHARP CLAWS and must have had a mean guy in her past. Cleo likes to hide in the bushes and tall grass and in the time she's been here she's ended more than a few bird's, rabbit's, mice, rat's and other critters lives and brought more than a few up to lay on the welcome mat in front of our door. also anywhere i lay a beach towel folded up inside the house that becomes her new spot.

post up your cool lights as you get them finished and in the meantime a few of your cool dogs please do.

cheers

 

[Bogdan M.]

People keep racoons and coyotes as pets?

She's very beautiful. I like cats.

 

[drivesitfar]

Bog: i can't say for sure some have COYOTES as pets, but i know some people that have WOLVES as pets. a GJ member here had a COUGAR (MOUNTAIN LION) as a pet and here's a picture of his cougar on his couch before he passed a few years ago.

have you heard of the ANACONDA and PYTHON issues in FLORIDA started cause a few were pets that either escaped from their owners or owners let them go when they got too big? they grow to 20+ feet long and there have been some found with some big animals inside them.

thanks for the dog pictures and here's our daughter's dog that always keeps us busy if he's staying here.

cheers

 

[Bogdan M.]

I didn't know about that.
Thank you for the pics too!

 

[jimgood]

Bog: i can't say for sure some have COYOTES as pets,

Now you can say for sure! I had no idea either.

 

[drivesitfar]

JIM: i wouldn't have believed it if i hadn't seen it. COOL VIDEO. my parents have a cat and a weiner dog that do that for hours, but their cat is almost bigger than the dog.

OMG that coyote just lets the cat give him a licking and he keeps coming back for more. nice to see the owner petting it too. thanks for posting the video and i think BOG is speachless too.

ALL: i've had coyotes a few feet from me on golf courses and i never felt threatened, but they usually eat cats and dogs in the city neighborhoods. once one is found it's usually put down and i saw one crazy guy hanging a dead coyote by a rope from a Basketball hoop on his garage telling the school across the street not to worry i guess.

 

[Bogdan M.]

I now realized that the pictures on the first page were too big and hard to see, so I removed them and added GIFs instead.

Today I was at the flee market.

This is what I bought.

The door hinges will be most helpful. I have to replace the hinges on the front gate.
Haven't heard of Eklind tool company until now. Is it a well known company in the US or just some chinese rip-off?

I also saw some nice barbecues for sale.

I think I will buy one next week.

 

[Bogdan M.]

For some time I wanted to build a workbench on wheels.
I have the habit of browsing OLX (a site similar to Craigslist) in search of cool stuff for the garage.
Last night I found a cool industrial workbench that was just brought from Italy.
Today I bought it. I am very happy with it. It only needs a bit of work.

 

[drivesitfar]

Bog: nice work picking up that table and i'd have bought it to and i don't NEED one. it looks plenty stout and should hold just about anything. if you want to set a lot of greasy and heavy things on the top you might want to get a small rubber gym mat to protect the wood or even cardboard or a yoga mat will might work ok.

sorry i've never heard of Ekland, but i like Vintage tools and it looks like it will work.

did you like the COYOTE VIDEO with a coyote playing with a cat? GEESH that was eye opening, but like i've said i've never been afraid of coyotes and have had more than a few within 20 feet or so of me on the golf courses and a few walking down ours and other city streets.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Thanks!
I was thinking of buying a big metal tray to put on the top when I will use it for engine and gearbox work.
These jobs are very messy.
I hate automatic transmission fluid.

Yes, that was very nice and surprising. At first I thought that it was trying to hurt the cat or that the whole thing might escalate to something very bad. Fortunately they were the best of friends.

 

[Ole Slewfoot]

The grease helps protect the wood..except gear oil, never spill that on your wood.
Kind of kidding, but sometimes a soft surface is good, you can drop a cam gear on there and it wont have a dent.

Elkind, not high profile like Snap On or Craftsman, but I have a ball end allen set from them that seems totally adequate.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Yes, that is very true.

So it's a real company. I had some doubts.
I already used it and it feels strong enough.

The lamps are almost finished.
I still have to do some minor touch-ups, but I am satisfied with the overall result.

The new workbench is great. The perfect height, not too big so no wasted space. Very happy with it.

 

[Grumblebum]

Nice bench, I wonder if the guy that makes those bbq's could fold up a sheet metal tray for the top ?

Cheers GB

 

[Bogdan M.]

Nice bench, I wonder if the guy that makes those bbq's could fold up a sheet metal tray for the top ?

Cheers GB

Thanks!
Probably, but I will order one from my welder. The guy that welded my workbench.
He works at a company specialized in metal fabrication.

Update:
The lamps are almost finished so I have to make some preparations.
Today I removed two lamps and some wiring and then I eliminated some drywall that was damaged by a water leak from the roof.
As I already took care of that leak, I want to install new drywall.

Removing drywall is very messy, so it took a while to cleanup everything.

 

[sawduststeve]

Wow, your lamps look fantastic , great work with the paint.

Re: tidying up the drywall, I would have been soooo tempted to sweep it all into the pit. well done for not doing that.

Regards
Steve.

 

[dla]

Bogdan, I've been following your thread and find it very interesting! You have a strong work ethic and a way of turning your ideas into reality.

I just realized in your last set of photos that you have very few things attached to the walls. I see a basic tool kit on pegboard but that's it, no shelving, cabinets, etc. Is that because of the space being a rental? Or does having everything mobile suit your vision and ideas better?

 

[Bogdan M.]

I am glad you find it interesting. Thanks!

Thanks for your questions! I will explain.
The thing with my workshop is that I started it at an early age (for starting a business anyway) - 24 years old and I lacked both life and professional experience.
I like to learn from the mistakes of others, but the following mistake is my own.
When I rented the place I did have a plan, but not a very good one.
The renovation took far too long and in time I saw a lot of things that I have done poorly.
Firstly, the way I organized the shop. Not at all efficient, all based on the organization of the former business that was in the same garage.
This was corrected and now it's a lot better.
Another issue is poor lighting. Lamps were installed with some help, but the location of the lamps and the type of lamps we used is not at all suitable with the garage.
The lighting in an industrial space has to be in correlation with the workspace.
The lamps were installed in the center of ceiling. The ceiling height is 3.15 m a.k.a 10.33 feet.
So there are lights just over the car. So the car roof is well lit, but not the workspace.
That is why I will install suspended lights. And I will pay great attention to the location of the lamps.
The question about tools is very good because I did plan to organize the tools a lot better.
I could have done this already, but I believe that nothing is as permanent as that which is called temporary.
I saw this happen time and time again. So I prefer to make things as good as I can instead of going for a temporary fix which I will have to bear with for a long time.
The pegboard I have is also a very bad decision.
Because I am very concerned about aesthetic, I organized the tools on the pegboard by brand. Almost all are Gedore and look good. That is very stupid to say the least.
My tool organization plan is the following:
All the tools I use daily or at least once a week will be placed on two big metal pegboards I will install on the wall behind the workbenches. This is the best place to have tools. The exception is the KS Tools case that will continue to sit on the workbench because I can't find a proper place for it.
I already custom ordered a hammer rack and I bought some aluminum for a screwdriver rack. So that will be a tool wall. I also plan to add a wall mounted paper roll holder.
Then all the tools that are now in the blue cabinet will be placed in the two Lista cabinets. I will do this with the tools that are now on the workbench lower shelf.
I want all tools to have a dedicated place.
Even if the place is a rental I have total freedom. As long I pay the rent that is.

Cheers,
Bogdan

Wow, your lamps look fantastic , great work with the paint.

Re: tidying up the drywall, I would have been soooo tempted to sweep it all into the pit. well done for not doing that.

Regards
Steve.

Thanks!
That wouldn't have been good with my OCD.

Cheers,
Bogdan

 

[Bogdan M.]

Update:

I continued to replace drywall. Very messy, very dusty and quite annoying.
A lot more difficult than installing drywall in a new build.
But I am happy that progress has been made.
There's a lot more to come.

 

[Bogdan M.]

Update:

I was not satisfied with the job I had done to the ceiling in the back of the garage.
I tried to patch up the ceiling, but the plasterboard was affected by water and even if I cut what I thought was damaged, when I installed new boards I was surprised to see that the damage was a lot more extensive and the new boards and the old ones didn't aling because the old ones were bended because of the water.
So I took out the new boards, I then proceeded in cutting a lot more plastboard. I also added more studs and then new plasterboard. It now looks ok and ready for mud.

I also insulated one of the doors. It's a lot of work, but very important in the long run.
I invested a lot of money in the building, but I still loose a lot of heat in the winter because of the doors. Hopefully it will make a difference in the winters to come.

So I am halfway done with the door insulation. Except paint which will also be done later on.

 

[drivesitfar]

Bog: sorry to hear you had to do something over to do it right, but you'll be happy you did. i hope it looks good and helps with some heat loss. i've never seen those metal framing or supports so guessing they are maybe just common in your area or were they more made for a drop down ceiling.

another way to avoid some heat loss is to DROP DOWN your ceiling if you don't need the height since you have a pit and not a lift, but that would maybe be too expensive or too much work even if it was possible.

how's your little lawn looking now and did you find a good little push mower or how are you cutting the grass? weedeater maybe?

cheers and have a great day and pop in on the Get Healthy thread again and as you have time cause would love to hear your comments and how you are doing with your SODA ADDICTION or NON ADDICTION maybe now that you are cutting back or have stopped drinking it.

 

[Bogdan M.]

I am happy even if I had to redo the drywall. I learned something new and it now looks ok.
Metal studs are normally used around here.
Wood is only used for roof structural elements. The materials normally used are cement and bricks.
Wood houses are a very small niche around here.
I won't be able to drop down the ceiling because it would cost too much money. And the place is a rental. I already invested too much.

Thank you for asking! I will post something about the lawn next week after I will cut it for the second time. Pics included. All I can say now is that you were right on all accounts.
Have a great day too. I will.

 

[drivesitfar]

Bog: best of luck with the grass maintenance and i'm sure you'll figure it out. it looked great when you first put it down so hopefully you can get a little mower and or a weed eater to keep it up. hope the dogs have not made it their favorite spot to pee or if so maybe you provided better conditions than they had before so you are keeping your dogs smiling.

i thought a bit more about your heat and a couple fans up there in the winter to push the heat back down might be another cheaper option. they might also move some air around in summer months too if it gets too hot in there.

hot air rises so if you are heating your garage all the heat will end up in the ceiling unless you have a fan or some other circulating mechanism pushing the heat back down to you.

thanks for the KUDOS (Compliments) and hope you are having a great weekend.

here's something you might keep an eye out for if you have them around in your country/area. i bought these 2 barber chair's bases and i'm hoping they will work for a huge vise. of if you find the entire chair that might be a good spot for you to sit in and rest in between all the work you do.

cheers

 

[Bogdan M.]

Thanks!
I will probably won't be able to have the perfect grass I originally wanted because of the dog. I accepted the idea.
The place is not mine, so there are disadvantages that I must accept. Being a tenant certainly has advantages so I can't complain.
I hope to have a house with a garden in the future. For now I will make the best of this situation.

I thought about buying a stove fan for the winter.

A floor fan is also on my buying list.

Really great finds!

Cheers!

 

[Bogdan M.]

@drivesitfar: This is how the grass looks now. The pictures are from today.
You can also see the damage made by the dog.

A happy 4th of July to you all!

 

[Bogdan M.]

Update:
Today I had some free time, so I continued to work on the door insulation.

 

[drivesitfar]

Bog: great work on the door insulation. if you want some smoother caulking lines more practice always helps. also if you get the caulking gun that rotates so you can move it around easier works best. good luck with that and i hope your insulating will be noticed next winter.

here's a link i found when googling cause i heard there were ways to help with dog issues and grass: http://www.wikihow.com/Keep-Pet-Urine-from-Damaging-Lawn

or just keep trying to get the dogs to go to a different area. my son in law and daughter trained their dog to go #1 & #2 in the high weeds and ivy and just by making him feel bad if he didn't go there. it looks like changing the dog's diet a bit might help too or even watering the spot if you are able to.

the grass and the vines growing leaves looks great. WELL DONE!!

 

[Bogdan M.]

Those caulking lines were made in 2011. By me, of course. They look awful.
I will try to trim them with a box-cutter.

Thanks!

I have no control over the dog.
The yard is mine all day, but at night the owner let's him free and that's the result.
During the day the dog sits in the small yard that's next to the side of the garage.
This will have to suffice.

 

[drivesitfar]

Bog: i was only making a suggestion on the caulking and i bet your caulking applications have improved, but it really helps with the right tools. unless you are going to paint and the caulk is still doing it's job i'd move that way down on the do list and do that another day.

your little yard space looks great and you did good to improve it and now with summer weather even watering in the mornings might avoid some more of the brown spots.

take care and as always keep your eyes peeled/open for some cool vintage stuff.

cheers

 

[Bogdan M.]

Thank you! I have a caulking gun. The problem is that when I worked on the doors, I also painted them, painted the blue workbench, I also worked on the sink corner.
Everything in just a few days in order to open for business.
That is why it's a sloppy job.
I am much more organized now and I no longer do things like that.
I now believe that it's a big mistake to do something fast as a temporary fix.
Temporary usually means a very long time. That "temporary" fix is from 2011. Ugly sink corner, ugly paint job on the workbench and so on.
I hope I will be finished with all these renovations until the end of the year.

I usually water the sod twice a day. In the morning when I get to the garage and in the evening before I leave.

Cheers!

 

[Bogdan M.]

Update:

The sink corner has always been the ugliest part of the garage.
I began its renovation.

I also worked on the doors. Not yet finished, but a lot of progress has been made.
Having the doors insulated will make a big difference in the winter.

 

[Precivilization]

Very nice work! Keep it up.

 

[drivesitfar]

Bog: i'm not exactly sure what you changed in the corner with the sink other than maybe taking off a few inches of old mortar or cement, but i like the old brick wall.

just curious when your weather starts getting cold (below freezing)?

anything new?

feel free to post on the Get Healthy thread and let us know how you are doing with your SODA ADDICTION (or past addiction/use). ok?

 

[Apache3057]

Place looks amazing!!